Trapped By Choice
by AnimeFan202
Summary: What if Digimon wasn't a kid's story? Join Sora as she's pulled into a more twisted, much darker Digital World. (Eventual Taiora)
1. Chapter 1

**Hey, guys… I want to apologize to anyone who was still reading Lost Ideas. I really hate to permanently kill a story, but I have officially taken it down. I thought I had something when I started it. But it felt like I had to sit down and rethink the plot before every new chapter I put up. And eventually, it just started looking a storyline that was already covered in the Digimon anime. It got to the point where I **_**hoped**_** no one was reading it. It just wasn't working. **

**If you're new to my profile… Welcome to my new story! The plans I've got for this one are vastly different, so with any luck, I won't run into any of the same problems. That said, let's get on with chapter one. **

**Chapter One: An Unusual Start**

In no way was Sora above questioning Fate. She liked to believe that things happened for a reason, even if she didn't always understand why. She could accept that some things would always be out of her realm of comprehension. But sometimes, she just wished Fate could be a little more… considerate.

For instance, if she was going to have a handsome boy ready to whisk her away on some magical adventure… Well, who was she to complain? But did he really have to appear at a time when she was sunburned, exhausted, and barely dressed?

It had been a long, long day. Thrilling and adrenaline-filled, but long. So she couldn't imagine what had possibly woken her from her dead sleep at 2:30 that morning. And then she saw the boy standing over her.

The fact that she simply stared up at him from where she lay in bed attested to her grogginess.

The boy was glancing over the framed photos on her bureau. When he turned back to her, he smiled. "Hey. Glad to see you're finally awake. Sora, right?"

"Who the hell are you?" She felt it was an appropriate answer.

His grin only seemed to widen. "My name is Tai." He paused slightly. "Do you always dress like that?"

She slowly propped herself up in bed and ran a hand through her reddish-brown hair which had been cut short enough so that she didn't have to worry about putting it up, but not so short that she looked like a boy. She glanced down to see she was in her sports bra and extremely short UnderArmour shorts- her usual attire before she put on her soccer uniform. Sora yawned. Two hours had clearly not been long enough to sleep off her fatigue.

Long was an understatement, really. Her day had begun with an early-morning run. A 5:30 morning run with her team mates. Saki, the team captain, considered it both a bonding experience and a teamwork exercise. And as much as Sora and her other team mates groaned over the rigorous training schedule their captain had put together, they were grateful for Saki's determination and passion for the sport. Granted, they were only in junior high, but many of them, Sora included, were in their last year and took it seriously. Unfortunately, the coach appointed by the school did not share this love. Clearly, he had been in it for the extra money. The girls had taken it upon themselves to rise above his lack of dedication.

And rise they had. All the way up to the district finals. The tournament had started at seven that morning and if you continued to win, as Sora's team had, didn't end until ten that night.

It had been the best day of her soccer-playing career. High on their win, Sora's team had taken a run through the city to the pond in the woods. There they had jumped in, not a care in the world. And that feeling of euphoria… 'amazing' didn't even begin to cover it.

Though it was the middle of June, the school year almost over, the water had been freezing. The shock had given them all enough energy to run home, where Sora had collapsed- never had there been a more accurate use of the word- onto her bed and promptly fallen asleep.

And now here she was, just two hours later, with a boy staring down at her. She continued to stare up at his tan face. He looked athletic, which was always a plus. Vaguely, she wondered if his hair always stuck up like that or if perhaps he had been recently shaken awake too. The way he continued to smile at her was enough to send a tingle down her spine.

She sat up, suddenly defensive. "It's 100 degrees out, 2:30 in the morning, and _my_ room. I think I'm entitled to wear- or not wear- anything I want." Her words were undermined only slightly by the way she had gotten out of bed to rifle through her drawers, quickly slipping into a t-shirt and a pair of jeans.

The boy- Tai- hadn't lost his smile throughout the whole ordeal. He held out his hand. "Great. Are you ready now?"

Sora wasn't sure why she did what she did next. She figured she must have still been half-asleep. But she took his hand. And they were gone.

**Review please!**

**So, I managed to make the first chapter simultaneously short and slow… I kind of wanted to lay down some background, I guess, because they won't be back to Earth for a while.**

**I don't own Digimon! The only thing I own right now is the idea and Saki… who probably won't be making another appearance. ^^'**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you to **Guest **for reviewing the first chapter and anyone who's followed or favorited it so far. I know the first chapter was really short. This one is a little longer. **

**Chapter Two: New Surroundings**

The strangest realizations occur when the impossible is happening. The second Sora took the strange boy's hand, a small device clipped to his waist began to glow. This was when she noticed her new companion was fully dressed. So while her room was disappearing around her, transporting her to another world, Sora came to the conclusion that Tai probably had not just woken up like she had.

A million images a second whizzed past her line of sight. She didn't really have time to take it all in before the spectacle was over.

She stumbled slightly when solid ground reappeared under her feet, not releasing her grip on Tai's hand. When she regained her footing, she looked up, perplexed, into Tai's smiling face. He let go of her and made a wide, sweeping motion with his arm.

"Welcome home, Sora."

**…**

Her first thought was that this place didn't look like anyone's home, least of all hers. Granted, it was the middle of the night, so she couldn't exactly see everything, but it was clear enough that they were in the middle of a forest.

Tai led her forward along a path she could just barely make out, though he seemed to know it by heart. For a few minutes, they were met with no sound but that of the crickets. But soon Sora could hear human voices. They were too far away for her to distinguish any actual words.

What caught her attention first was the glow of the fire, for the conversation had stopped the second she had walked into view. Once her eyes had adjusted to the light, Sora spotted the other kids seated around the fire.

There were four of them, all varying in age and appearance. Seated closest to the path was the only girl. She was younger and beamed at the two when they walked into the clearing. She had short brown hair, and something about her eyes made Sora glance back at her guide who was smiling around at their audience.

On the far side sat two blond boys, and Sora would have bet anything they were brothers. The younger of the two was smiling openly at her, stretching up from his kneeling position to see better. The older boy seemed perfectly content to remain partially masked by the fire. He was taller than his brother, but of the two, he was harder to see. He flashed her a brief smile when her gaze focused on him, but she could see the calculating side of him, too. He was observing her silently.

Sora wouldn't admit to being intimidated, but she did move on without too much hesitation. The last boy didn't even look up at their arrival, but not necessarily because he was unhappy to see them. He looked preoccupied, that's all. He was a year or two younger than Sora and focused intently on a laptop in front of him. He continued to tap away at his keyboard as the introductions were made.

She followed Tai a little closer to the fire. "Sora, this is my little sister Kari."

The little girl smiled even wider. "It's nice to meet you!"

"My name's TK!" the smallest boy piped up. "And this is my big brother Matt."

All she got from Matt was another brief smile and a nod before Tai turned to the last boy. "Hey, Izzy, aren't you gonna say hello?"

The boy with the computer finally looked up, seeming surprised to find that they had company. "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance," he amended politely, shaking Sora's hand.

"Guys, this is Sora," Tai finished.

"Hi," she greeted, looking around at the odd bunch. She wasn't usually shy, so she blamed her timidity on confusion. She could practically _taste _the excitement radiating off of the younger two, but she couldn't imagine why. Were they expecting something from her?

"Come and sit down," Tai urged, and she joined the other kids on the ground, Tai on one side, Izzy on the other.

Despite Matt's coldness, the atmosphere was comfortable. Though she had just met these kids, Sora felt an odd sense of belonging. She couldn't explain it, but sitting here with these five just felt… _right_.

"Now that you're here, we can toast marshmallows!" TK exclaimed happily.

"We've been waiting for you for a long time, Sora," Kari explained sweetly.

"Oh?" She was trying to be as polite as possible, but the weren't making any sense. "Is this some sort of summer camp?"

"Sort of," TK replied, spearing a marshmallow with a stick. "'Cept we never have to go home!"

"This _is_ your home, TK," Tai corrected.

"The cabins are over there," Kari said, turning and pointing farther on into the darkness. "Now that you're here, I'll have a room mate again!"

There was silence for a moment as Sora tried to let the events of the past twenty minutes (Really? Had it really only been twenty minutes?) sink in. What was going on? Who were these strange kids? Where in the world was she?

"Are you okay?" Sora looked up. It was Kari again. Though the other kids were still there, the two girls had a strange sort of privacy. TK was chattering cheerfully about something to his brother, who was nodding politely but clearly only half-listening. Tai had moved to lean over Izzy's shoulder, trying to make sense of what was on the laptop screen. "You're awfully quiet."

Sora entertained the thought of smiling and lying, but the little girl looked so concerned it was hard to be anything but genuine in return. She leaned down closer and whispered, "Kari, where _are_ we?"

"Didn't Tai tell you? We're in the Digital World, of course."

Sora's stomach did a small flip. Was it possible that they really weren't on Earth anymore? Kari was still a little kid, she tried to reassure herself. Maybe this 'Digital World' was just a game they were playing.

Out of the corner of her eye she could see Matt ignoring his brother completely now, watching her carefully. Sora looked down, choosing not to say anything… until she spotted the strange creature raiding the bag of marshmallows. She shrieked in spite of herself. "What _is_ that?"

The other kids all turned to look, thought they didn't seem nearly as surprised. Matt quickly chased the strange being away from their food, and TK answered, "That's just Numemon. They're usually pretty nice. I guess they can kinda be a nuisance sometimes though…"

"A… Numemon?" she repeated.

"They're a species of Digimon," Izzy supplied. "That's shortened from Digital Monster. Digimon are the main form of life here in the Digital World."

Well, that settled it. Either she had gone insane, or she really had traveled to another world. For the third time in such a short time span, Sora focused on Matt's close observation of her. What was he waiting for? She chose to take a leaf out of his book and held back any thoughts she had.

For the next hour or so, she had to admit that she was having a pretty good time. As long as she blocked out her confusion and the bizarreness of the situation, she found that she really enjoyed the company of the other children.

And then another twist was thrown into the mix.

The laughter and conversation slowly quieted as the old man walked into the clearing. Sora could feel a sort of reverence from all of her new companions, but Tai was the only one who got to his feet.

However, when the man stopped, it was _her_ that he addressed directly. "Hello, Sora. I'm glad you've finally joined our little family."

His words were kind and grandfatherly, but there was something about Tai's stiff behavior and Matt's darkened eyes that made her shift in her seat. She smiled anyway, thought, and said with manners that would have made her mother proud, "Thank you so much for having me. Um, but how do you know my name?"

The old man chuckled. "We have been waiting for you for a long time. But that is a story for another day. You may call me Gennai. It is late. I'm sure Kari would be more than happy to show you to your quarters."

He nodded to the group as a whole and began to walk away, making it all too clear they were dismissed.

**…**

The way Gennai had called them 'quarters' one would have thought the kids were staying in a mansion. In truth, it was little more than a shabby cabin, just like the ones Sora had seen at every summer camp she'd ever been to.

But she didn't say anything like this to Kari. Gennai was right about one thing. The girl was thrilled to be giving this little tour.

So Sora nodded politely and tried to look happy to be there despite the fact that she still had _no idea what was going on_. And when the two got situated, she found it nearly impossible to fall asleep.

"Kari?" she whispered. "You said something about having a room mate… again. Was there… another girl?"

"Mmm-hmm," she mumbled sleepily. "Her name was Mimi."

Across the room, the younger girl was quickly falling asleep, but her words were keeping Sora wide awake. "What happened to her?"

"Mmm? I dunno… One day… She just wasn't here anymore."

Sora would have loved to continue questioning this mysterious disappearance, but Kari was already out.

**…**

They were woken the next morning by the shrill sound of a trumpet. Sora jerked awake and into a sitting position, disoriented. _Where was she?_

It all came flooding back when she spotted Kari on the other side of the room, yawning and stretching and not seeming the least bit alarmed by their rude wake-up call. Of course, for her, this was routine.

In her own personal wardrobe, Sora found an extra set of clothes. A plain t-shirt and a pair of jeans. Casual clothing like all the other kids wore. With all the other strange going-ons, she barely questioned that the clothes fit her perfectly. Sora had already decided to follow the lead of the other kids and hopefully make some sense of what was going on along the way.

And she had to admit- it was all too easy to just go about the day and pretend she was in the middle of some normal scenario. It really did feel a little like summer camp.

She followed around after Kari, doing mundane things like drawing water, helping prepare food in a little, fairly-modern kitchen, and cleaning their cabin until it shone. The girls ate meals with the rest of the kids at a dining pavilion and, just like they had at the campfire, the six settled into each other's company almost too well.

There were little quirks, of course. Sora met other Digimon throughout the morning, and it threw her for a loop every single time. (Each time, Kari would just laugh, telling her she'd get used to it.) And she didn't miss that Tai would disappear off to Gennai's personal quarters while all the other kids were busy with their chores.

But the strangest part of her day by far came after lunch. Tai led the other five out of their dining hall and to a secluded, grassy area. Sora followed suit, bewildered when the others all took up a kneeling position. Tai led them through calming breathing exercises in an odd sort of meditation. He smiled at her when the others closed their eyes.

"We do this every day," he explained quietly, "as a way of finding our inner selves."

It didn't sound like the sort of activity a bunch of kids would partake in, especially the younger ones. She must have seemed skeptical because he went on, "It's important. Our energy keeps this world alive."

Sora closed her eyes too, if only to please Tai, but she didn't have a clue what she was looking for. And she didn't miss the hypocrisy when Tai got up and left. If this daily soul-searching adventure was so important, where was he going?

Quietly, she rose from her spot on the grass, and no one so much as opened their eyes. Sora tiptoed away, leaving the meditation circle behind. Luckily, Gennai's house wasn't very far away, and she was able to follow Tai's tracks with ease.

As she got closer, Sora could hear the old man speaking, but she couldn't make out his words. She gathered up her courage, walked right up the pathway, and knocked on the front door. Immediately, the conversation inside cut off.

"What are you doing here? Why aren't you with the other kids?" Gennai demanded. His words came out much harsher than she'd expected, and Sora found herself glancing uncomfortably between him and Tai.

Speaking of… She had thought something seemed a little off about Tai the previous night when he'd essentially jumped to attention the moment Gennai had made an appearance, though he'd spent the evening laughing and having a good time like any other kid. The way he looked now just reinforced the thought that something was wrong. (Gennai's presence?) Tai was standing stiffly, and the look in his eyes… 'faraway' didn't even begin to describe it. With a start, she realized she couldn't discern his pupils from his irises.

But, disturbing as Tai's appearance was, the old man was still waiting for an answer.

"I want some answers," she decided on, sounding none-too-friendly herself. "What _is_ this place? When do I get to go home?"

Gennai's frown deepened. "You're here for your own good, Sora. That's all I can tell you for now."

"What is _that _supposed to mean?! I want to go home!" The volume of her voice was rising steadily, and she knew she sounded like a whiny child, but she didn't care.

Gennai's eyes had darkened. "I was afraid you would react like this. Tai." The boy snapped to attention. "I think it would be best if Sora spent a little time with our other… guests."

**Review please!**

**I don't own Digimon.**

**For anyone who's worrying about Joe and Mimi's absence… (: They'll show up in chapter three. **


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